Jessica “Evil” Eye overcame a tough opponent and a rain-soaked cage en route to her seventh straight victory tonight at NAAFS: “Fight Night In The Flats 9” in Cleveland, Ohio. Eye outpointed veteran Brazilian contender Carina “Barbie” Damm in tonight’s 132-pound catchweight main event.
Eye got off to a strong start in the first round and she scored with quick punches, but Damm rallied in round two and dropped the hometown star with a head kick. A failed takedown from Damm in the final round allowed Eye to take top position and that earned her the win on the scorecards.
Eye (10-1-0), who was competing for the first time since suffering a serious back injury in March, jabbed and landed leg kicks early in tonight’s bout. She backed Damm (17-9-0) up against the cage with a combination, but Damm was game and she landed a slashing elbow over the top. Eye landed a one-two and backed away, and she countered Damm’s kicks with straight rights in the late stages of the round.
The middle stanza began with a clinch and Eye held Damm against the cage. The Brazilian broke away and she landed two left hooks that were answered by more straight punches from Eye. Damm stepped forward and landed a left high kick that wobbled Eye. She staggered backwards on the rain-covered canvas and fell to the mat, but recovered quickly and got back to her feet. In the final minute, Damm caught a kick and took Eye down. She struck from the top until the bell.
With the fight even after two rounds, Damm kept up her aggression in the final round with a variety of kicks. Eye jabbed and landed one-two combinations. She connected with an overhand right and Damm threw more kicks. She attempted to throw Eye to the mat, but it backfired and Damm wound up on the bottom. Eye punched from Damm’s guard and soon returned to her feet. Damm followed and landed two leg kicks, but the late-fight top control from Eye proved to be the difference maker.
All three judges scored the close fight 29-28 in Eye’s favour. She stated after the bout that she was still recovering from the March back injury, but had not wanted to let her hometown Cleveland fans down by not competing. Eye has won seven straight fights since she suffered her lone career defeat two years ago at NAAFS: “Fight Night In The Flats 7.”
Winner: Jessica Eye by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 10-1-0.
(Photo Credit: Bellator)
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PROUD OF MY JESS. SHE IS SO DETERMINED & STRONG. IT WAS VERY SCARY TO WATCH BECAUSE THE FLOOR WAS SO SLICK & IT WAS HARD FOR THEM TO GET THEIR FOOTING. CARINA LANDED THE HEADKICK ,BUT JESS SLIPPED. SHE WAS KICKED HARDER IN TRAINING BY TECIA “THE TINY” TORNADO. JUST SAYING. DAMM WAS TOUGH , BUT JESSE’S HARDWORK & PROFESSIONALISM SHOWED TO GET THE WIN.
If Eye can make 132, then she could fight in UFC at 135. Since Bellator is rumored to be done with WMMA, they should let her out of her contract.
Eye has fought at 130 lbs. before. She is a huge 125 lber., and easily one of the strongest girls in the division. She muscled even Barb Honchak around and seemed a lot stronger than everyone else she faced to present date, much like Cat Zingano, who fought at 125 lbs., for most of her career. I am sure she would rock at 135 lbs.
She would be an excellent addition to the UFC, who is recruiting some 125 lbers. to their 135 lbs. division.
Congrats to Jessica! And just like Kels mentioned, hope Bellator will release her from her contract but maybe head over to Invicta at 125.